I Became a Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

***

The two were immediately transported back to the mansion.

Seeing Edgar collapse unconscious right in front of her, Ariel repeatedly called out his name with deep concern on the way back.

For a ten-year-old girl, it must have been a shocking sight.

“Mom! Edgar…! Because of me… Edgar…”

“Calm down, Ariel. You need to be treated as well.”

Helene, having heard the full story, tried to calm her daughter, who was visibly distressed.

According to the doctor, although Edgar had lost consciousness, he hadn’t sustained any serious injuries or internal damage. His life wasn’t in danger.

However, the doctor emphasized that he had exerted far too much energy for a ten-year-old body and needed to rest urgently.

Helene handed Ariel to Katria’s care and quietly made her way to the room where Edgar was lying.

His fiery red hair, which resembled Ariel’s eyes, was tangled and disheveled.

There were abrasions on his hands and arms, likely from scraping the ground, and they had been wrapped with bandages for now.

According to the soldiers, Edgar had been injured while fighting a boar to protect Ariel.

‘A boar… Such a brave child.’

Although she had heard the details from the soldiers, Helene could hardly believe it.

An adult who had mastered martial arts could certainly take down a wild boar, but Edgar was just a ten-year-old child.

It wasn’t easy for a child of his size to even think about facing a boar, let alone attack it.

Helene reached out and gently brushed Edgar’s hair aside.

Having kept this boy by her daughter’s side was perhaps one of the most brilliant choices she, as a mother, had made.

Of course, seeing the trouble this child had to endure made her feel guilty at times.

At this moment, all she wished for was that he would wake up, bringing relief to everyone in the mansion.

With that wish in her heart, Helene softly stroked the cold, flushed cheek of Edgar.

In response, his eyes faintly fluttered open.

“Ugh… Helene… Madam?”

“You’re awake? Don’t worry, you’re in the mansion.”

“A-Ariel…?”

As soon as Edgar woke up, he immediately showed concern for Ariel’s well-being instead of his own condition.

Helene couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at his reaction.

Should she be grateful or confused? She thought he should be taking care of himself first, but here he was, worried about Ariel.

“She’s fine. It’s all thanks to you.”

“It’s not… it’s because of me… ugh.”

Edgar tried to sit up but was unable to muster the strength, his body refusing to cooperate. Instead, he winced and groaned as he grimaced in pain.

Helene, watching this, shook her head as she gently laid him back down.

“Don’t worry about being polite, just lie down. You’re a hero who saved my daughter, there’s nothing more you need to do.”

In fact, it was her that should be kneeling and offering gratitude, considering their positions. Given their roles, whether their social ranks were higher or lower meant nothing. The fact remained that Edgar was the one she should be treating with utmost respect.

“I’m sorry, Helene…”

“Are you apologizing for not stopping Ariel?”

“…Yes.”

Upon hearing his response, Helene smiled at him.

He must have tried, in his own way, to stop Ariel from going up the mountain. She remembered a similar situation before. He would have tried not to let her make the same mistake again, but Ariel, stubborn as ever, must have insisted and pushed through with her plans.

Helene could clearly picture the scenario in her mind.

“This time, you probably couldn’t stop her. If it had been another day, maybe you could have.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that……?”

Edgar couldn’t quite understand the underlying meaning of Helene’s words, and a question mark seemed to appear above his head. 

What could she possibly mean?

Of course, he had noticed that Ariel seemed even more stubborn than usual, but he assumed it was just her high spirits today. But the way Helene spoke made it sound like there was something else behind it.

“Unfortunately, it’s not something you should ask me about. When you meet Ariel later, you’ll hear it from her directly.”

“Okay.”

So she wanted him to hear it from Ariel herself?

His curiosity flared up, and he was itching to ask more, but he had no choice but to accept her answer.

He’d get to the bottom of it sooner or later, probably by tomorrow.

‘I feel a bit dizzy.’

Now that he had confirmation about Ariel’s condition, Edgar finally turned his attention to his own health. He felt chilled, likely because he had been in the heavy rain for so long, and when he touched his forehead, he noticed he was running a mild fever.

‘Maybe I caught a cold.’

Given everything that had happened, if the worst that came of it was a light cold, he considered it a happy ending of sorts.

Helene, who had been quietly observing, seemed to notice Edgar’s condition. She reached out with slender fingers to gently touch his face and forehead, checking for fever.

Though it wasn’t dangerously high, there was definitely some heat.

Since he had just regained consciousness, it would be a good idea for him to see a doctor again.

“It looks like you have a fever. Lie down for a bit. I’ll bring you some water and food, and we’ll have the doctor check on you again.”

“I’m sorry for causing trouble, ma’am.”

“It’s normal for children to cause trouble for adults. Of course, it becomes a problem when it’s excessive, like our daughter.”

Helene, laughing as she made a playful remark about her daughter, quickly left the room.

With the tension now gone, Edgar stared blankly at the ceiling and finally let out a deep sigh of relief.

Honestly, he thought he was going to die stranded, unable to move. But the soldiers arrived earlier than he had expected, and he was lucky to escape with his life.

‘I was even considering throwing Ariel halfway up the mountain.’

That way, even if she got hurt, she’d be found by the searchers faster. It had been his last plan before losing consciousness, but he was grateful he didn’t have to resort to it.

‘Something’s noisy.’

It was noisy outside. There were banging and creaking sounds, likely from people running up and down the stairs. Given the situation, it was no surprise. With the eldest daughter of the Duke’s family returning in such a state, the servants were bound to be in a panic.

Once his condition improved a bit, he knew he should go and check on Ariel.

*Bang.*

“Ed!”

“Hmm?”

While he was lost in thought, the door to the room suddenly burst open, and Ariel charged in.

Technically, it was one of the soldiers carrying Ariel who opened the door, but that detail was irrelevant for now.

“Ed! Are you okay!?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Are you okay?”

Although Edgar still felt a bit dizzy, he responded without showing it. He worried his lie might be uncovered, but luckily, Ariel didn’t seem to notice.

The proof was the bright smile blooming on her face.

“I’m fine. You protected me until the very end.”

It wasn’t like he had actually protected her. He hadn’t done much. The wild boar, after all, hadn’t been fought, it was more like they had just run away. And the only thing he did was give up his jacket.

Still, hearing it from her directly, seeing her alive and well, gave him a sense of relief. 

The puffiness under her eyes suggested she had cried quite a bit. Even though she was smiling now, her eyes were still moist.

“Why are you crying so much? Were you afraid I was going to die or something?”

Edgar spoke in a teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood.

He expected her to shout that she wasn’t crying, just like she always did.

But today, it seemed like nothing was going as he predicted.

Ariel, instead of arguing, flushed red and nodded quietly.

As her memory seemed to come back, her eyes began to fill with tears once more.

“Yeah… *hic.* I really thought you… *hic…* were going to die…”

“Hey, hey, why are you crying now?”

“Shh, I don’t know…!”

When he reached out to wipe her tears, Ariel stubbornly turned her head, acting like a spoiled child.

She had no idea how much he had worried, and here she was asking him why he was upset.

If he hadn’t saved her life, he would’ve given her a piece of his mind right then and there.

But, since she was alive and well, he decided to let it go just this once.

“Are you really alright, Master Edgar?”

One of Ariel’s guards, who was familiar with Edgar, spoke up.

In a way, they had been outdone by a ten-year-old boy, who had ended up saving the day.

Perhaps because of this, there was a strange look of reverence in his eyes.

“Yes, I’m fine. Where is my mother?”

“She’s bringing food. She seemed very worried and insisted on feeding you herself…”

“Ugh.”

Even though he was really only ten years old, he would prefer not to be fed by his mother.

Since he was still recovering, she likely wouldn’t bring him a heavy meal, but rather something light like soup. At that point, he could easily eat it by himself with his current condition.

As he and Ariel were talking about this and that, Katria came in carrying a modest meal.

Behind her was Helene, who had a slightly awkward smile, as she had been denied the opportunity to serve him herself.

The room was soon filled with people, and Edgar’s face grew tense.

He had rejected his mother’s offer to feed him, and now, with all eyes on him, eating in such a situation felt almost surreal, as if he didn’t know whether the food was going into his mouth or his nose.

“Katria, let’s leave for a bit. It wouldn’t be proper for the adults to crowd around while he’s eating.”

“Ah, yes… of course.”

As expected of Lady Helene! How well she understood what was going on.

Edgar silently praised her in his mind, while outwardly continuing his meal without any sign of discomfort.

Once Helene and the others left, the only people remaining in the room were Edgar and Ariel.

Though he was still a bit dizzy, he tried to eat the soup, even if he occasionally missed his spoon. Eating a proper meal was the best way to get his strength back.

“U-uh, Edgar…”

“Mm? What?”

Ariel, her face slightly flushed, called his name.

Since he was still finishing off the soup, his response was a little delayed.

“A-about the soup…”

“Yeah? Oh, do you want some too?”

“I-I already ate!”

What’s this? Wasn’t she just pointing at the soup because it looked good?

Edgar tore a piece of bread beside the soup and brought it to his mouth, moving his jaw while staring at Ariel with a nonchalant expression.

Today was really strange. She had been sitting there with her head lowered, not saying anything at all. The usually confident and stubborn girl was acting odd.

As Edgar’s curiosity grew, Ariel, who had been staring at her nearly empty bowl, let out a soft sigh and then nodded as if she had made up her mind about something.

“E, Edgar!”

“Ah! What’s going on with you?”

Had she eaten something bad?

“The… the soup… should I feed you?”

“Huh?”

Soup? He had almost finished it. Initially, he struggled with the spoon because it was too hot, but after that, he had been eating it without any trouble. There was hardly anything left now.

“Don’t worry, I’ve almost finished it.”

“R-right, of course…”

“……”

Now, she was making him feel guilty again.

Edgar noticed Ariel’s face quickly falling into a pout, and he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

She probably wanted to express gratitude and apologize, but didn’t know how.

He had a good guess as to why the usually honest girl was acting this way.

‘Well, one time won’t hurt.’

If this could relieve some of the emotional burden Ariel was carrying, it wouldn’t be a bad result.

He wasn’t thinking of taking advantage of this situation to get anything from her. This was simply an opportunity to clear things up.

“No, wait. Actually, could you feed me?”

“Really?”

“Actually, I have a bit of a fever, so I’m still having trouble with the spoon. I’d appreciate it.”

As soon as she was given permission, Ariel’s face immediately brightened up.

She took the spoon, scooped up the last bit of soup, and brought it to his mouth.

Edgar accepted it, smiling again.

‘This isn’t bad.’

Being treated like this by someone from a high position didn’t feel bad at all.

He thought about how nice it would be if she was always this compliant, but at the same time, he realized that her usual way of being was more fitting for her.

Despite being quick to snap at others, at heart, she was a gentle princess.

That was the impression Edgar had of Ariel Löweheim, the girl he had been watching all this time.

‘By the way, I never asked about the gift.’

It probably wasn’t too late to ask tomorrow.

He thought about it casually and continued to let Ariel feed him the soup until the bowl was empty.

***